We also received good news from our friends in Austin who were arrested two years ago for defending their campus against fascist interlopers – after a two-year legal battle, all their charges were dropped! They wrote us to say “we want to especially thank those who donated to their legal funds. Without such generous donations, we would not have been able to afford their legal team. We can’t say enough how much countrywide and international solidarity means for the comrades here in Austin who face decades of prison time between them all. We will continue to fight, we will continue to win, and we will never apologize for our politics, nor will we dial them back in fear of repression.”

Over in Sweden, Joel also wrote to thank us for supporting him, saying “many thanks to everyone who contributed to the free Joel campaign, everyone who wrote letters and sent in stuff. Thank you to all the groups who supported and spread the word, above all thanks to AFA Stockholm and an even bigger thank you to fånggruppen Stockholm…don’t forget that it’s never possible to live on old merit, class is ongoing. Organize yourself!”

There was one request that the Defence Fund’s Decisions Crew – the body of nearly 600 anti-fascists who discuss and make decisions regarding the Defence Fund – turned down. Yogyakarta, Indonesia’s Libera Community Space wrote us to request support to help expand their community centre. While we agreed that this was a fantastic project, we felt that it fell outside of the mandate of the Defence Fund and turned down their request because of that.

Over the past three months, ten anti-fascists in four countries received help and support when they most needed it from The International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund. Four other anti-fascists wrote to thank us for the help we provided them in the past – for three of them, help that meant they were able to beat unjust criminal charges! None of this would have happened without the generous donations of our supporters. We do vitally-important work that deserves your support.